Complaint Filed Against Canada Post for Unlawful Election Advertising

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OTTAWA - Canada Post has been accused of engaging in election advertising while failing to register as a third party with Elections Canada, as required by federal law.

“Canada Post’s material clearly qualifies as election advertising,” said Mike Palecek, National President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which filed the official complaint against Canada Post Corporation for distributing flyers about the mailboxes with which it plans to replace home delivery.

“This material is a sales pitch for the Conservatives’ group mailboxes. Other political parties are committed to stopping the cuts to door-to-door delivery and have been campaigning about it: it’s a major election issue,” said Palecek.

Election advertising is the transmission of a message that takes a position on an issue with which a party is associated. The union says it registered its Save Canada Post campaign, which opposes cuts to postal service, with Elections Canada some time ago.

“Even though we disagree with the unprecedented restrictions placed on freedom of expression by the so-called Fair Elections Act, we’ve been playing by the rules and we expect Canada Post Corporation to do the same when it’s working for the Conservatives,” said Palecek.